Skunk Hour (Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Robert Lowell
- First Published: 1958
- Type of Work: Lyric
- Genres: Poetry
- Subjects: Alienation
The Poem
“Skunk Hour” is written in free verse, but with a formal pattern of eight six-line stanzas (sestets) with a loosely regular rhyme scheme. The title suggests a particular hour in the day—the hour when skunks are likely to come out—and implies that this hour occurs on a regular basis. The title hints that time will be an important element in the poem.
Set in Maine, where Robert Lowell had a summer home, the poem begins by showing a series of events that denote a decaying society: The elderly heiress has bought up the houses facing hers and let them go to...
[The entire page is 1619 words long]
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